


Return To Sender

by kiite



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, arc v spoilers, much needed hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 21:06:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15566400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiite/pseuds/kiite
Summary: Crow catches up on his voicemails.





	Return To Sender

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Love Letters From Synchro](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15513378) by [Checklatechippancakes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Checklatechippancakes/pseuds/Checklatechippancakes). 



> hey!! this fic is a sequel/response fic to Checklatechippancakes' fic "Love Letters From Synchro" ! absolutely read that fic first cause this one directly quotes it multiple times

Crow leaned over the railing, breathing in the familiar air of City. His eyes scanned over the twinkling lights of the distant buildings, glimmering against the black night like stars in the sky. The wind chilled him thoroughly, rushing over his bare arms and cutting to the bone; but Crow didn’t mind. It was a reminder that he was alive.

“It’s pretty.” A voice said quietly from his left. Crow turned to look at Shingo, who had accompanied him back to City. He was looking straight ahead, watching the lights instead of Crow. There was a barely noticeable quiver to his voice that Crow might have missed, had he not spent so much time around  _ someone  _ who often tried to hide his feelings. 

Crow put a hand on Shingo’s shoulder, drawing the boy’s attention. There was another moment of silence, no words exchanged between the two. “Are you alright?” Crow asked him gently, concern in his voice. They had both been through a lot, and Crow worried for the younger boy.

“Yeah, I, uh…” Shingo trailed off, his voice cracking a bit. He sniffled, trying and failing to stop the tears from slipping out of his eyes. “I just wanted to say that I-- Thanks again. For saving me back then. And, um, I’m still sorry. For… you know.” He rubbed at his face, trying to wipe away his tears. 

“Aw, c’mere, kid.” Crow said, opening his arms. Shingo slammed into him, wrapping his arms around Crow’s torso tightly. Crow let out a laughing wheeze at the impact, putting a hand on top of the shorter boy’s head. “Oi, oi, it’s alright. And there’s no need to apologize; you didn’t do anything wrong, alright?” 

Shingo just nodded, face still pressed into Crow’s shoulder. Crow could feel his jacket starting to get wet with Shingo’s tears, but he made no comment on it. “Actually,” Crow said, “I should be thanking you. For keeping my duel disk, and, well, me I guess, safe all that time. I probably wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t.”

Finally taking a step back and releasing Crow from the hug, Shingo looked up at him with a sincere expression. “Of course! I… I always knew you’d come back.” He suddenly looked away, guilt clouding his expression. “I should tell you one thing, though. I know I shouldn't've, but I, um… I listened to your voicemails. The ones from Shinji.”

Crow knew exactly what voicemails he meant. When Shingo had given him his disk back, the first thing he did was try to call Shinji. However, because it was already so late, there was no answer as Shinji had likely already gone to bed. While navigating his disk, he had noticed the large number of voicemails in his inbox, all from Shinji. He hadn’t had the chance to listen to any of them yet, though.

“I know it was wrong, and I’m really sorry,” Shingo continued, his words genuine, “But I couldn’t bring myself to mute it, I just… wanted someone to hear his messages, I guess. I don’t really know why I did it. I definitely invaded both of your privacies, though, so I wanted to apologize.”

Crow smiled, giving him a thumbs-up. “It’s no big deal.” he said casually. “I just hope he didn’t say anything too weird or gross.”

Shingo actually laughed for the first time that night, a small, wet giggle. “Nah, nothing like that…” He turned his gaze back towards the city, his eyes full of something Crow could only describe as… longing? “He really loves you a lot. Called all the time. Kept leaving voicemails, even after you were…” Shingo didn’t finish the sentence, letting the unspoken words be carried off by the wind.

“Mm, I know.” Crow replied, smiling warmly. “I really am the luckiest man alive.” They fell back into a comfortable silence, neither saying anything for another five minutes. Eventually, Crow pushed himself away from the railing and stretched. 

“Well, I oughta head home. I think there’s some people who probably wanna see me.” He glanced down at his watch. “Thank god the trains are still running at 2 AM, huh? The wonders of automation!”

Shingo nodded, not quite sure what to say. Crow walked over and patted him on the back. “Thanks again for everything, kid. Good luck out there. You’re always welcome at our place, too. Oh, and tell Reiji I said…” Crow paused, before putting up his middle finger with a smirk.

Shingo broke out in a full-out laugh, wiping a few more tears away from his eyes. “I’m not going to do that to Reiji. I think they would  _ literally  _ have me killed.” Once he recovered, he gave Crow a genuine smile. “Thanks, Crow. I, um… I’m really glad you’re okay. Oh, and… tell Shinji I said sorry. For hanging up on him. B-bye!”

With that, Shingo turned and ran off into the night, leaving Crow quite confused. “Hanging up on him?” Crow echoed, blinking. “Guess I’ll just have to ask Shinji about it.” he said as he made his way to the train platform.

* * *

 

The train car was empty. This was no surprise to Crow, as it was two in the morning, and he was thankful for the quiet. He took a seat near the middle of the car, putting his duel disk in his lap.

The train was fast, but made many stops before reaching his destination; that meant he had a lot of time to himself. As good a time as any to listen to the voicemails, he figured. He turned the volume up and played the first one; he recognized the date as the day he was carded.

“Heya Crow!” Crow immediately smiled at the sound of Shinji’s voice, but something stabbed at his heart. Shinji didn’t know yet. “Just tucked the kids in, they miss you very much.” A pause, and then a sniffle. “We all do, ya know. Now I know how you feel when I don’t come home for days on end.”

Crow’s smile fell away in an instant, and he was filled with guilt. He never planned to leave his family for so long; if Shinji felt this lonely by the first voicemail, he wasn’t sure he could bear to listen to the others. He pressed on nonetheless.

“Please call me back soon- oh and look! I didn’t swear for you. I’m getting better, I promise.” Shinji’s crackling voice pulled him from his thoughts as it filled the train car. Crow’s smile returned slightly as he was overwhelmed with affection for his boyfriend. The next message started to play as he stared out the window at the passing buildings.

“I was so sure you would have called, ya know,” The guilt returned in double, Crow’s breath hitching. “Anyways, hi Crow! It's your loving boyfriend just calling this morning to say good morning!” Shinji’s somewhat forced laugh came through the speakers, wrapping Crow in a familiar warmth, giving him mood whiplash. He wanted to hug Shinji more than anything in the world right now.

“The kids have been very good and they’ve been doing all their chores. I've been taking your role best I can. Tony and Damon visited the other day, told me to say hi! The City’s restoration is going swimmingly! Be sure to tell me how the pirate thing went! Oh, I'm running out of time! See you soon!” The message ended a bit abruptly as Shinji struggled to cram everything he could in his limited time. Crow sighed, wondering what all he missed out on while he was gone as the next message started.

“Sorry if you're sleeping and can't pick up,” Crow was startled by the change in Shinji’s tone. He was quiet and, for the first time, openly sad. Crow’s desire to embrace him only grew. “But we just wanted to say night- right kids?”

“Night dad!” Crow’s heart ached as he heard his kids’ voices for the first time in a while. He’d take them anywhere and do anything they wanted to do when he got home; he owed it to them. 

“Oh come on you won't call me dad but-” Crow chuckled a bit at Shinji’s exasperation. It was a nice break from the sadness and guilt he was feeling while listening to the voicemails. “Whatever. Please call back soon! The kids miss you! Almost as much as me, even,” Crow fully expected the “Shinji!” that came from the kids next, grinning. He was very glad he had had someone he trusted as much as Shinji to leave the kids with.

“Gotta go! Can’t let them stay up too long, ya know.” Crow blushed a little at the sound of a blown kiss, knowing Shingo had heard that. “Love you to the Fusion Dimension and back!” 

Crow smiled as the message ended, putting a hand over his heart. “And back…” he echoed. “I’m on my way back, I promise.” Crow whispered to no one in particular, closing his eyes.

“Hey Crow!” The next message started. Crow felt himself almost drifting off to sleep, Shinji’s voice calming and comforting. “I know it's earlier than usual, but I wanted to say hi before I went to work. It's kinda hard sleeping without you here-” 

Crow blinked his eyes open as the message ended suddenly. He glanced down; his disk was still turned on, and the message had reached the end of its playback. That meant either Shinji had ended it there, or someone had picked up and it stopped recording. Had Shingo—

Crow’s train of thought was derailed as the next voicemail started, Shinji’s angry voice coming out loudly. “ **PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE! WHAT HAPPENED** —“ Crow scrambled to pause the playback, startled by the sudden yelling. Now in the eerily silent train car, he lowered the volume. His heart pounded loudly as he pressed play. “—TO CROW!? WHY WON’T YOU ANSWER ME!? IS EVERYONE’S LIFE JUST SOME STUPID GAME THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN IGNORE IF YOU AREN’T WINNING!? ANSWER ME AKABA.”

Stopping the next voicemail before it could autoplay, Crow took a moment to comprehend what he had heard. So it wasn’t Shingo who had picked up, but Reiji. And this must have been when Reiji told Shinji what had happened to him… His heart hurt for his partner, anguish clearly evident in every word he shouted.  Hand shaking, he played the next message.

“What the hell does “lost” even mean?” Shinji said, his voice rough from shouting. He was still clearly angry, barely stopping himself from losing it again. “Is he missing? Did he get captured? Is…  **did you let him die.** ”   


The emotion Shinji put into the last phrase was hard for Crow to deal with. He was accusatory, pissed, grief-stricken, and confused, all at once. Crow wished that Shinji would wake up and see that Crow had called him so he would call him back. All he wanted right now was to tell Shinji he was okay, he was coming home, he loved him. A few stray tears slipped down his face as he pressed play.

“Reiji, I took a drive, I’m calm now. Pick up the phone please. What happened to Crow. You need to tell me. Please call me back, Crow already has my number on speed dial.” Crow was glad that Shinji was no longer yelling, but the desperation in his voice was just as crushing. The anger had left his voice, and all that remained was a dire need for answers that he wouldn't get from Reiji. 

“You’re lucky I can’t travel across dimensions and beat your ass, Reiji.” Crow actually laughed a little, despite his tears and the lack of humor in Shinji’s voice; something about hearing Shinji act somewhat more like himself was reassuring. He held the disk close to his chest as the train rushed onward, routinely announcing the approach of the next stop. 

Crow stared out the window blankly as the rest of the messages played, only half listening. In all of them, Shinji was pretty drunk and largely unintelligible; Crow couldn’t make heads or tails of most of what he was talking about. There was a lot of Shinji begging Crow to come home, some more angry remarks directed at Reiji, and a lot of rambling and mumbling. There was even one mention of Sawatari’s name, and Crow wondered if that was related to what Shingo had mentioned earlier.

After what felt like an eternity, a robotic voice filled the car, letting Crow know that his stop was next. He jerked out of his weird dreamlike state and attached his disk to his arm, stopping the playback. As soon as the doors opened, he burst out into the quiet night, feet hitting the pavement hard as he ran home as fast as he could. He had a lot he needed to tell Shinji, but for now all he cared about was getting home.

* * *

 

“Guess there’s not a lot of room for me, huh?” Crow thought to himself as he peeked into his bedroom. He was cautious to be quiet and not let too much light into the room as he peered in, not wanting to wake anyone.

On their bed was Shinji, stretched out a bit but mostly on his own side. On Crow’s side, however, were Frank, Amanda, and Tanner, all piled up on and around Shinji. They were all snuggled up together, sharing the bed’s large comforter. Stepping quietly, Crow walked over to the edge of the bed Shinji was closest to and sat down gently, trying not to disturb the bed’s occupants.

He reached a tentative hand out, running his fingers through Shinji’s messy hair, something he had greatly missed doing while he was away. Crow was able to do this for a little while before Shinji let out a little groan, indicating that he was at least somewhat awake. Due to the weight of the children pinning him down he was unable to roll over, but he turned his head to look towards Crow. 

“Crow…?” Shinji mumbled, squinting in an attempt to confirm his suspicions. He didn’t seem fully awake yet.

Crow hummed, nodding. “Mhm, it’s me. Sorry I took so long.” He moved his hand from Shinji’s hair to the side of his face, caressing it tenderly. 

Shinji leaned into the touch, closing his eyes again. “Oh, okay…” he mumbled, preparing to fall back asleep. It only took half a minute for him to realize the situation and his eyes flew back open, staring straight at Crow. “Crow?!” he exclaimed, jolting upwards. The kids rolled off him as he did, grumbling and complaining until they finally noticed the other presence in the room.

“Crow!” They all shouted together, pulling him down into the bed. Crow laughed as he fell, letting himself be tackled by the kids he loved so much. Shinji was still just staring at him wide-eyed, looking close to crying.

“Crow, I-- I thought you--” Shinji stammered, at a loss for words. He was shaking a little bit, clutching the comforter with one hand. 

Crow waved him off with the best gesture he could manage while being tackled. “I know. I got your voicemails.” Shinji didn’t move or say anything, and Crow sighed softly. “We can talk about it all tomorrow, honey. But I’ve had like, the longest day, and right now I kinda just wanna snuggle up with my family and sleep for a long, long time. You alright with that?”

A pause, and then Shinji nodded. “That sounds nice.” he said, laying back down on his side, facing Crow. Worming his way out from under the pile of children, Crow positioned himself the same way, leaving some distance between himself and Shinji for the kids to fill. They happily crammed themselves between their two guardians, all managing to get back to sleep within ten minutes; it was pretty late, after all. 

 

Shinji, on the other hand, opted to stay awake, not taking his eyes off Crow. The orange haired duelist gave him a sleepy smile. “Hey, I’m not goin’ anywhere, you know?” he whispered, barely staying awake himself.

 

“Yeah,” Shinji whispered back, his smile warm and genuine, “I know.”


End file.
